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Posts Tagged ‘Bladder Weakness’

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How is Constipation Related to Bladder Weakness?

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

Bladder weakness is often a symptom of a treatable condition. Constipation is one problem which, when treated, can lead to a resolution of bladder weakness. Constipation can be caused by not drinking enough fluids, not eating enough fibre, not getting enough exercise, stress, certain medications, some neurological conditions, pregnancy, laxative overuse and various other problems or conditions.

You may be wondering exactly how constipation can affect the bladder; in fact, the same nerves that supply the pelvis also supply the rectum, so a problem affecting one may also affect the other. In addition, hardened stool as a result of constipation can apply pressure to the urethra and bladder, causing a sense of urgency.

Improving constipation may lead to an improvement in bladder weakness. This can be accomplished by increasing water intake, eating a well-balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables and fibre, and partaking in regular exercise. If these self-help measures are not effective in relieving constipation, you may consider consulting your doctor, who may be able to pinpoint the cause of both constipation and the resulting bladder weakness.

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Staying Silent – Women Fail to Report Bladder Weakness

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

Several research studies have focused on women and their failure to report bladder weakness to their physicians. If this applies to you and your situation, you may find it interesting to know that many women choose to suffer in silence. Why? Perhaps you, like many other women, feel that the problem of bladder weakness is one that you can deal with on your own. It may be that you feel embarrassed by your condition, and the very idea of discussing the issue with your family doctor makes you cringe.

Many women also feel that bladder weakness is simply part and parcel of getting older. Although bladder weakness is more common as we age, it is not an expected “rite of passage” on the journey of aging. There are more advantages to discussing the problem with your doctor than disadvantages. Your physician has undoubtedly heard it all, and isn’t likely to be shocked by an admission of bladder weakness. Being forthright about the problem may lead to its resolution, and that may be worth a little embarrassment in the end.

While you are sorting the problem out with the aid of your physician, you will be comforted to know that there are products available to help you cope with bladder weakness. Modern bladder weakness products are designed with the active women in mind, combining comfort, discreetness and security. No matter your age or extent of bladder weakness, DryForLife has the right product for you and your budget, from light pads to undergarments that resemble regular underwear. Click here to view our full line of products.

Further Womens Health Articles

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Kegel Exercises for Bladder Weakness

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

Kegel exercises are an important tool in maintaining the strength of pelvic floor muscles which can be weakened by pregnancy, childbirth and hormones. Your pelvic floor muscles are the muscles that support your bowels, bladder and uterus, so it is easy to see why keeping these muscles as strong as possible is important. Weakening of these muscles may result in bladder weakness.

Not sure where exactly these muscles are, let alone how to exercise them? You’re not alone; many women will admit to the same problem. To isolate your pelvic floor muscles, simply attempt to stop your urine while going to the toilet. If you can do this, you have found the right muscles. Still having trouble? Insert a finger gently into the vagina and tighten up your muscles around your finger. You will feel these muscles tense and your muscles will move upwards; when you relax these muscles, they will relax downwards. Once you are able to tense these muscles you are ready to perform Kegel exercises.

To perform Kegel exercises, simply tense your pelvic floor muscles and hold for 5 seconds, then release the muscles slowly over 5 seconds. Repeat 10 times, 3 times per day. Gradually increase the number of seconds you tense these muscles and how many “reps” you can do. Remember to breathe slowly throughout the exercises, and not to tense other muscles, such as your abdominal muscles.

It may take several weeks before you see a noticeable difference if you are practicing Kegels to improve bladder weakness. Don’t be discouraged if you do not see immediate results (Rome wasn’t built in a day!), but do set aside a time each day to perform the exercises; for example, while you are watching television or sitting at your desk.

If you would like to learn more about bladder weakness, please click here.

Further Womens Health Articles

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How to Create Your Bladder Diary

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

A bladder diary

A bladder diary is a record of your urine output and other useful information related to your voiding habits. Making a bladder diary prior to consultation will help your physician accurately diagnose your condition. Moreover, it provides detailed insight into the severity of your bladder weakness so that a suitable and effective plan of care can be easily developed.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) has an excellent sample form of a bladder diary, which can be obtained online. This diary is an hourly record with two separate sheets for day and night. Each sheet contains six columns with the following headings: Time, Drinks (which is sub-divided into two columns: What kind? and How much?), Trips to the Bathroom (subdivided into two columns: How many times? and How much urine?), Accidental Leaks, Did you feel a strong urge to urinate?, and What were you doing at the time? You are also required to include the number of incontinence pads or pants you used for the day.

Here are some helpful tips for creating your own bladder diary:

•1. The longer you fill in your diary, the better-You need to fill in the diary for at least 3 days, but it is preferable if you fill it in for an entire week.

•2. You can estimate urine amounts as small, medium, or large- For more precise measurements, ask your physician for a graduated pan that fits under the rim of the toilet, making it easy to measure your urine.

•3. It is important to indicate when/how often you change your absorbent pad or pants, or your clothing.

•4. Don’t forget to describe your health and general well-being. For example, make note if you have pain, fever, or any other symptoms of illness- Remember that the more details you provide, the more accurate your diagnosis is likely to be.

•5. If you are a woman, never start your diary during your menstrual period, as you may change more frequently than you normally would.

A bladder diary can be a very useful tool in exploring the issue of incontinence, especially when done at a high level of compliance. The information obtained from your bladder diary can help your doctor determine the cause of your incontinence, as well as decide upon the most appropriate treatment for your condition.

If you would like more information about incontinence, feel free to download our free DryForLife Guide to Living With Incontinence.

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Problems Associated with Bladder Weakness

Friday, May 29th, 2009

Bladder weakness affects millions of people worldwide, but that doesn’t mean that it has to be an inevitability for anyone, Bno matter their age. It is a curable condition in many cases. Left untreated, bladder weakness can affect people in several ways, physically, socially, and emotionally.

Although the physical discomfort of bladder weakness is not to be downplayed, the social and emotional cost of incontinence is high. For those who suffer from incontinence, the fear of their secret being discovered in public can literally prevent sufferers from enjoying the social aspects of their lives. This can lead to depression and feelings of low self-esteem. Personal relationships may also suffer.

Symptoms of bladder weakness are usually easy to identify, and may include constant leakage of urine, leakage of urine during activities which exert pressure on the bladder, or an overwhelming urge to urinate followed by leakage of urine. Should any of these symptoms occur, a visit to the doctor is in order.

For more information regarding bladder weakness, or to read the full version of this article, please visit www.dryforlife.co.uk to view the full article, or feel free to download our DryForLife Guide to Living With Incontinence.

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Urinary Incontinence – Facts and Myths

Friday, May 29th, 2009

There are so many misconceptions regarding urinary incontinence. For instance, many people wrongly assume that incontinence is a normal and expected part of the aging process, and that bringing the problem to a doctor’s attention will likely bring embarrassment and not much else in the way of effective treatment. In fact, the sooner you inform your doctor about the problem, the sooner treatment can be instituted.

Many people are also unaware that simple lifestyle changes can often make a huge difference in incontinence symptoms, such as cutting down on caffeine and alcohol intake and decreasing fluid intake before bed. Losing weight and quitting smoking are two other lifestyle changes that can also improve incontinence.

Another common misperception is that it is only women who are affected by urinary incontinence. Although women are about twice as likely as men to be affected, there are millions of men worldwide who suffer from incontinence. Although the underlying causes of incontinence are sometimes different between women and men, the social and emotional effects are similar.

To view the full article regarding myths and facts about urinary incontinence, visit www.dryforlife.co.uk or download the free DryForLife Guide to Living With Incontinence.

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What are the Types of Urinary Incontinence?

Friday, February 20th, 2009

Stress urinary incontinence
Stress urinary incontinence can be due to insufficient strength of the pelvic floor muscles. This condition is associated with actions that increase intra-abdominal pressure, thereby increasing pressure on the bladder,  such as exercise, lifting weights, coughing, sneezing, and laughing. The underlying problem with stress incontinence is the weakness of the bladder sphincter muscle.

This condition is extremely common in  women who have given birth, are pregnant, or who have been through menopause. In men, this is the most common form of incontinence subsequent to undergoing prostatectomy. The good news is that we can treat stress incontinence.

Urge incontinence
Urge incontinence is characterized by the sudden loss of urine occurring following a sudden and urgent need to urinate. Urges are accompanied by uncomfortable bladder spasms. Involuntary detrusor muscle contraction is the most common cause of urge incontinence, causing the bladder to empty before it is full. Another name for urge incontinence is reflex incontinence. It may also be referred to as spastic or overactive bladder.

There are two type of urge incontinence: (a). idiopathic detrusor overactivity – due to surrounding or local inflammation, infection, or irritation of the bladder; (b) neurogenic detrusor overactivity – due to defective central nervous system inhibitory response.

Mixed urinary incontinence
Mixed incontinence is a term used to describe the condition of having two or more types of incontinence. The most common combination of mixed incontinence is urge and stress incontinence.

Transitional Incontinence
Transitional incontinence is experienced for a short period of time. This condition may result from specific circumstances which, when dealth with, lead to an incontinence “cure”. A common example of this would be urinary tract infection. Once the infection is treated, the person is no longer incontinent.

Functional incontinence
Functional incontinence is incontinence due to physical limitation or limited mobility of the person, who is unable to get to the bathroom in time. This is common with people suffering from Alzheimer’s, confusion, dementia, arthritis or in  people who have problems with thinking, moving or communicating.

Overflow incontinence
Overflow incontinence is characterized by leaking or dribbling of urine due to over-filling of the bladder. This is usually due to weakness of the bladder muscles or a blockage in the urethra, resulting in incomplete emptying of the bladder. This is common among people suffering from diabetes, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, or benign prostatic hypertrophy. Medication such as anticholinergic can worsen this condition.

Structural incontinence
This is the rarest form of incontinence and is caused by structural problems usually diagnosed in childhood. An example of this is ectopic ureter. Surgery is frequently required to effect a cure.

Bedwetting (enuresis)
Bedwetting is normal with young children. This condition is also called episodic urinary incontinence while asleep.

For more information, you can download our DryForLife Guide to Living with Incontinence.  You can also email or call our Discreet Advice Helpline or Freephone 0800 180 4325 to find out more about incontinence products available to help you cope on a day-to-day basis.

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Physiology of Urinary Incontinence

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

Definition:

Urinary Incontinence -  the involuntary and unplanned leakage of urine due to loss of bladder control.

Physiologic Anatomy:

The urinary bladder is a smooth muscled organ composed of two parts:  (a) the body – the major part of the bladder where the urine collects, and (b) the neck – which is a funnel-shaped extension of the body, passing inferiorly to the urethra.

The smooth muscle of the bladder is known as the detrusor muscle.  Its muscle fibers extend in all directions and, when contracted, it can increase the pressure in the bladder to sometimes as high as 40-60 mmHg.

On the posterior wall of the bladder, immediately above the bladder neck, two ureters enter the bladder.  Where each ureter enters the bladder, it courses obliquely through the detrusor muscle and then pass underneath the bladder mucosa before emptying into the bladder.

Another name for the bladder neck muscle is internal sphincter.  Its natural tone keeps the bladder neck and posterior urethra empty of urine and therefore prevents emptying of the bladder until the pressure in the body of the bladder rises above a critical threshold.

Beyond the posterior urethra, the urethra passes through the urogenital diaphragm, which contains a layer of muscle called the external sphincter of the bladder.  This muscle is a voluntary skeletal muscle,  in contrast to the muscle of the bladder body and bladder neck, which is entirely smooth muscle.  This external muscle is under voluntary control of the nervous system and can be used to prevent urination,  even when the involuntary controls are attempting to empty the bladder.

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What is Incontinence?

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

Around 6 million people in the UK are estimated to suffer from incontinence. Of the overall population aged 60, it may surprise you to know that 35% are likely to be incontinent. If you think that this condition only affects the elderly, then think again. Do you know that among the 15-65 age group, 25% of woman and 5 % of men have incontinence? You are not alone. The good news is that there are solutions to this problem.

Incontinence – is defined as the unplanned and uncontrolled passage of waste material due to the loss of normal control of bladder or bowels.  There are two major categories of incontinence; namely, faecal incontinence and urinary incontinence.

Faecal Incontinence – is the uncontrolled passing of faeces/gas (air),  probably due to weakened sphincter musculature. Unlike normal defecation, in which a person is aware of passing a bowel movement, in faecal incontinence, there is the loss of the ability to control this passage. Faecal incontinence ranges from occasional leakage of stool while passing gas to a complete loss of bowel control.

Urinary Incontinence – is the involuntary leakage of urine.  Urinary incontinence can range from occasional leakage to complete inability to hold urine related to loss of bladder control.  It can be as mild as slight dribbling or occasional leakage when you sneeze or cough; or it could be so strong that you will not be able to get to the toilet in time, losing the entire contents of the bladder.

Incontinence is one of the most expensive conditions to maintain, both in the form of health care system dollars and bladder control products. More than 50% of admissions to nursing facilities are related to incontinence. One of the leading causes of admission to assisted-living facilities are injuries related to incontinence.

Because incontinence can cause distress in the form of embarrassment, loneliness, and isolation, it is important to find ways to deal with it. The problem will not go away if ignored. Make an appointment with your doctor now to discuss treatments that can help you improve the quality of your life.

We at DryForLife understand the sensitive nature of your condition and would like to assure you of our careful attention to ensuring that your inquiries are dealt with in a discreet and confidential manner. You can email us or call our Discreet Advice Helpline on FREE PHONE 0800 180 4325 to find out more about incontinence products available to help you cope on a day-to-day basis..

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Hello and Welcome to the DryForLife
Incontinence Resource

Monday, February 16th, 2009

Your day to day guide to living and coping with incontinence.

If you are reading this post, chances are that you are one of the estimated 6 million people in the UK who suffer from incontinence, or perhaps you are searching for help on behalf of a loved one. If so, you’ve come to the right place.

Incontinence is an embarrassing problem that we often keep to ourselves, believing that no one else knows how it feels to suffer from the loss of bladder or bowel control. For some people, this can lead to avoidance of social activities that were once enjoyed; for others, to depression and isolation.

At DryForLife, we understand the importance of discretion. We also understand this condition and how important it is to feel in control of this aspect of your life. Our objective is to provide our clients with quality products, information and solutions to help you cope with incontinence.

Join us as we explore this condition,  striving to keep you up-to-date on the latest information and breakthroughs,  as well as providing you with good, basic information.  For more information, you can email or call our Discreet Advice Helpline or Freephone 0800 180 4325 to find out more about incontinence products available to help you cope on a day-to-day basis.

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